The owners of the noted restaurant Eulalie, which took over the former Bâtard space on West Broadway and White in 2024, have sued their new landlord — the LLC that bought 4-6 White Street from the estate of Peter Matera — after the landlord threated them with termination of their lease.

Eulalie owners Chip Smith and Tina Vaughn took over the lease from Drew Nieporent in April 2023 (Drew had had it since he first opened Montrachet there in 1985), which gave them until December 31, 2036, for the ground floor restaurant and a small portion of the basement for storage. It also gave them access to the rooftop air conditioning unit installed two decades ago, which as tenants, they were required to maintain.

But on June 9, the new landlord — 4-5 White LLC — gave them 15 days to fix what he said were defaults on the lease, including an illegal use of the basement and lack of insurance. That “cure notice” has forced Eulalie to hire a lawyer and fight the charges in court. They have had to provide the court with the lease documents and insurance certificate, which, according to their complaint, was required with the lease signing.

The complaint also says the new landlord charged them with an illegal alteration default — by replacing the 20-year-old compressor on the roof. That, Eulalie’s complaint notes, was also not legit: the existing electrical lines and venting and bracketing systems already existed and were installed 20 years ago; as tenants, they were required to replace the condenser when it broke. The landlord alleges that this was yet another default of the lease.

All in all, the “Cure Notice” issued on June 9 threatens to terminate Eulalie’s lease if they do not fix the defaults, none of which actually seem like defaults.

Eulalie and its lawyers are asking the court to issue a judgement declaring that the Cure Notice was not proper — and they have not in fact defaulted on their lease. They ask that the court prevent the landlord from terminating the lease or attempting to take possession of the premises.

The building was sold just this past February, at which time the Eulalie folks were asked to sign a certificate that they would abide by their lease agreement. The new owners paid $5.9 million.